Ultra Q
Ultra Q (ウルトラQ, Urutora Kyū?) is a tokusatsu SF/kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho's many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films. Produced in black and white by Tokyo Broadcasting System/Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System from January 2 to July 3, 1966 (the final episode was preempted until December 14, 1967), with a total of 28 episodes. This series was followed a week later by the more popular Ultraman (Urutoraman, 1966), the second Ultra Series. Ultra Q can be described as a half-hour Toho kaiju film. Although series creator Eiji Tsuburaya intended this series to be more like The Twilight Zone and focus less on the monsters, TBS convinced Eiji to add more monsters onto the show, as Godzilla (Gojira) and Gamera were very popular at the time (the first "Kaiju Boom" was already born). This series predates The X-Files, with continuing characters who investigate strange supernatural phenomena, be it giant monsters, aliens, ghosts, and other assorted calamities. The single best comparison to any American TV show is to The Outer Limits, which in its original form generally featured a monster-of-the-week story. Regarding the monsters, some of them were modified versions of Toho movie monsters (since Eiji owned the costumes). They include Godzilla (as "Gomess" in Episode 1, "Defeat Gomess!"), King Kong (as "Goro" in Episode 2, "Goro and Goro"), Manda (as "Mystic Dragon" in Episode 6, "Fly, Turtle!"), Baragon (as "Pagos" in Episode 18, "The Rainbow Egg"), Maguma (as Todola in Episode 27, "Flight 206 Vanishes"), and the Giant Octopus from King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) (as "Sudar" in Episode 23, "Rage in the South Seas"). The original planned title of this project was UNBALANCE, and was subsequently renamed Ultra Q (inspired by "Oba-Q", the nickname of the title character of the then-popular anime series Obake no Q-Taro, and "Ultra C", a popular term used for women's gymnastics during the 1964 Summer Olympics, where a Russian gymnast created an extremely difficult maneuver called the "Ultra C"). The series was produced beforehand all through 1965 (it went in production as far back as 1964) and was broadcast at the beginning of the next year. At the time, this was the most expensive TV series in Japan. In 2012, the series was released in DVD & Blu-Ray in Color, to commemorate the series' 47th anniversary Characters *Jun Manjoume (Manjōme Jun) (played by Kenji Sahara): Aviator at Hoshikawa Air Service and amateur SF writer. *Yuriko Edogawa (Edogawa Yuriko) (played by Hiroko Sakurai): Reporter for the Daily News. *Ippei Togawa (Togawa Ippei) (played by Yasuhiko Saijou): Jun's aviation partner at Hoshikawa. *Professor Ichinotani (Ichinotani-hakase) (played by Ureo Egawa): World renowned scientist, and occasional assistance to Jun, Yuriko and Ippei in times of crisis. *News Desk Editor, Seki (played by Yoshifumi Tajima): Yuriko's boss and editor at the Daily News. Episodes #Defeat Gomess! (ゴメスを倒せ! Gomesu o Taose?) #Goro and Goroh (五郎とゴロー Gorō to Gorō?) #A Present from Space (宇宙からの贈りもの Uchū kara no Okurimono?) #The Mammoth Flower (マンモスフラワー Manmosu Furawā?) #Peguila has Arrived! (ペギラが来た! Pegira ga Kita?) #Grow Up, My Turtle! (育てよ! カメ Sodateyo! Kame?) #S.O.S. Mt. Fuji (SOS富士山 Esu Ō Esu Fujisan?) #The Terror of Sweet Honey (甘い蜜の恐怖 Amai Mitsu no Kyōfu?) #Baron Spider (クモ男爵 Kumo Danshaku?) #Underground Super-Express, Go West (地底超特急西へ Chitei Chō Tokkyū Nishi e?) #Balloonga (バルンガ Barunga?) #I Saw a Bird (鳥を見た Tori o Mita?) #Garadama (ガラダマ Garadama?) #Tokyo Ice Age (東京氷河期 Tōkyō Hyōgaki?) #Kanegon's Cocoon (カネゴンの繭 Kanegon no Mayu?) #Garamon Strikes Back (ガラモンの逆襲 Garamon no Gyakushū?) #The 1/8 Project (1/8計画 Hachi Bun no Ichi Keikaku?) #The Rainbow Egg (虹の卵 Niji no Tamago?) #Challenge from the Year 2020 (2020年の挑戦 Nisen'nijū Nen no Chōsen?) #Ragon, The Amphibious Primordial (海底原人ラゴン Kaitei Genjin Ragon?) #Space Directive: M774 (宇宙指令M774 Uchū Shirei Emu Nana Nana Yon?) #Metamorphosis (変身 Henshin?) #Fury of the South Sea (南海の怒り Nankai no Ikari?) #The Idol of Goga (ゴーガの像 Gōga no Zō?) #The Devil Child (悪魔ッ子 Akumakko?) #Blazing Glory (燃えよ栄光 Moeyo Eikō?) #Flight 206 Has Vanished (206便消滅す Nihyakuroku Bin Shōmetsusu?) #Open Up! (あけてくれ! Akete kure!?) References *The Q-Files, Complete Ultra Q Episode Guide by Jim Cirronella & Kevin Grays, Originally published in KAIJU-FAN Issue # 4 November 1996 1 . *''Eiji Tsuburaya'': Master of Monsters: Defending the Earth with Ultraman and Godzilla, by August Ragone, Chronicle Books (2007), ISBN 978-0-8118-6078-9 *Ultraman Monster Ultra Large Collection　(orig.: ウルトラ怪獣大全集), Domdom (1995), ISBN 978-4-09-101411-5 *So Crazy Japanese Toys!, by Jimbo Matison, Chronicle Books (2003), ISBN 978-0-8118-3529-9 Externil links *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058851/ Ultra Q] at the Internet Movie Database Category:Series